Candles || Kokushibo

🖤13: ᴍᴜɢᴇɴ ᴛʀᴀɪɴ🖤

      Mabel is being carried by Tanjiro as they look up at the massive steam engine in front of them. Inosuke gestures toward it while shakily raising his hand.  "This thing is the master of the land, yeah. It controls the land." He stares at it up and down, and his body starts to tremble. "There's no mistaking its length and intimidating aura." Tanjiro tightens the haori he was using as a blanket for Mabel. "It may be sleeping now, but don't let your guard down!" The five-year-old whimpers in her sleep as a result of his hollering. Tanjiro sweeps her hair away from her face, swirling it and then laying it down to keep it in place. Zenitsu casts a disapproving glance at his male companion who has a feminine appearance. "No, it's a steam engine. You haven't heard of it?" He stares at the train with excitement, but Inosuke shoves his hand in his direction to quiet him. "Calm down!" Zenitsu maintains his fixed gaze on the pig mask while his expression is unaltered. "No, you calm down." Inosuke assumes a fighting stance. "I'll go on the attack first!!"

      "Get on the train already." From the box on Tanjiro's back, a deep voice remarks in a dissatisfied tone. After briefly freezing, Zenitsu screams, grabbing the attention of everyone nearby. "That isn't Nezuko-chan at all!" He starts smacking the box's door, which wakes Mabel up and makes her whimper. Tanjiro jumps and then turns to face his friend with the yellow hair. "Nezuko is in there! She's only sharing the box with my dad!" Zenitsu stops, his arm raised in the air, and his eyes grow wide with dread. The Kamado sighs wearily but gets on the train nevertheless, taking in his surroundings with interest. The box on Tanjiro's back starts to move somewhat as they stand on the train, scraping the edges of the box. The tiny wooden door swings open to show the demon's six eyes. "What the hell is that hideous creature!?" Without witnessing Mabel's terrified glances, Zenitsu recoils in horror. "Cut it out! He's not a monster!" He immediately hides them so that, as he increases in size, he looks more human. Kokushibo pats his son on the head while grinning, and then he caresses Mabel's face. 

      As they transfer into another cart, the train finally starts to move. Kokushibo is now holding the young girl, who eventually braided a loose braid in her hair to prevent it from matting and clinging to her face. Tanjiro opens the door to the following cart but flinches in response to a loud, booming voice. "Tasty!" Except for Kokushibo, who sighs in response to the flame pillars' peculiar behavior, everyone jumps in alarm and surprise. "Tasty!" He hollers that term with a big smile on his face within each bite, either noting the odd looks coming his way or not caring at all. "Is that a flame pillar?" Zenitsu murmurs to Tanjiro, who is staring at the man in bewilderment. "Yep." He responds, wiping a single drop of sweat from his brow. "Isn't he just a glutton?" The boy with yellow hair turns his focus from the man to the few dozen empty bento boxes that are piled high above their heads, giving him a critical look. "Yep."

     With a little worried expression on his face, Tanjiro takes a short step towards the pillar while extending his hand to try to get his attention. "Uh, excuse me? Rengoku-san?" Zenitsu observes the discussion from behind, lightly gripping the back of his friend's haori. "Tasty!" Kyojuro exclaims once more, and smiles broadly at the Kamado boy. Tanjiro's face starts to perspire again. "Ah, I understand very well already."

      Kokushibo doesn't care to listen to Tanjiro and Kyojuro's chat because they've opted to sit together, while the demon sits across from his son, marveling at the shimmering stars in the sky. His bangs are pulled, and when he turns to look, he sees his youngest daughter, who shares his brother's signature maroon eyes but wears them with a melancholy expression. "Uncle still isn't here." He is pained by what she discloses to him. He worries that his younger brother isn't present to comfort both him and his daughter. He is extremely distressed just thinking about Mabel being wounded or in suffering, either physically or mentally. Wherever he walked off, he couldn't help but wonder. He notices the tiny flyaways that emerge from her black braid as he raises her braid on his broad palms. "Don't worry, he'll come back." He comforts her while releasing his hold on her hair as it swings behind her and nearly touches her back. She doesn't bother to respond and conceals her face in his chest. He sighs and puts his hand on her head.